


Forty Minutes

by DoomedTemperament



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: First Kiss, Getting Together, Love Confessions, M/M, Snark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-16
Updated: 2016-04-16
Packaged: 2018-06-02 15:05:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6570850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoomedTemperament/pseuds/DoomedTemperament
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two students, one storage room, zero tolerance.</p><p>Or, the fic where Mayuzumi is forced to confront his feelings for a certain redhead.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Forty Minutes

**Author's Note:**

> First fic for this pairing, here's to hoping that I did it some justice. Special thanks to asahisheadband for introducing me to this fresh new ship hell.

Mayuzumi should have known better than to trust his former teammates when it came to personal matters. While he was perfectly capable of admitting that he had more baggage than an airport luggage pickup, he didn’t want to deal with others trying to fix his issues for him. He was an independent quasi-adult, and when the time came for him to confront his problems, he would- no sooner than that.

Which was unfortunate, seeing as he found himself confronting his number one problem far too soon for his liking: one Akashi Seijuro.

If it were up to Mayuzumi, he wouldn’t be in the same room as the redhead, but fate had a funny way of screwing him over, he supposed, because he had been locked in one of the empty storage rooms with his former-basketball team captain by none other than his teammates, and there wasn’t much hope of escape. The irony of the situation- so similar to what happened in the cliche tsundere love stories he was guilty of reading- wasn’t lost on him.

He wasn’t completely resentful of Akashi; Despite all that had happened during the winter cup, he knew he could have found worse ways to spend his time, and he was appreciative towards the other for letting him feel somewhat useful. Still, the fact that he had been used had left a bitter taste in his mouth, for more reasons than one. These reasons made him unwilling to talk to the other boy, especially since his surprisingly quick personality change had made him placid. But as for what the reasons were… he wasn’t going to say them out loud. And the others most likely knew this, considering the predicament he was in.

It was almost infuriating how he had gotten himself into it.

\---

“Mayuzumi.”

The lunch period had just begun, and all of the hallways were beginning to crowd as the students went to retrieve their food. Mayuzumi had planned on eating lunch on the roof that day, but the weather report from last night had mentioned the overcast sky, and sure enough, the morning had produced a steady flow of rain that hadn’t let up. Mayuzumi shouldn’t have been surprised to see his underclassmen in the hallway, considering the lunchtime rush. But he hadn’t anticipated being called out by them; He had tried to sever his ties, so he wondered why he was being contacted in the first place, and by three of his former teammates to boot. Of course, the one to call out to him had been Mibuchi, who Mayuzumi considered to be the most likeable of the three- that may have been why he felt inclined to respond.

“Do you need something?” He asked. That was a mistake.

“Yes, actually.” Mibuchi answered, wearing an almost-exasperated smile.

“We have what you could call an Akashi situation,” Nebuya added, because of course it had to do with Akashi. “He told us to tell you that he left something for you in one of the storage rooms.”

“For the record, we have no idea what it is, so we’re totally going to follow you to find out,” Hayama piped up with a grin.

Everything about the situation screamed “suspicious” in retrospect, but at the time, Mayuzumi figured that he could chalk it up to Akashi’s demanding behavior, so he went along with it, albeit hesitantly. In his mind, he knew he shouldn’t have to put up with this sort of thing- _being an errand-boy is not what I came to school for,_ he thought to himself- but old habits die hard, and if he was being honest, he was curious to see what the great Akashi Seijuro could have possibly left for him in a storage room. And so, with more reluctance than strictly necessary, he walked down the hallways until he found it, with Mibuchi, Nebuya, and Hayama trailing close behind.

Upon entering the spacious area, Mayuzumi noticed several things: The fact that most of the clutter in the room had been set aside to make an empty space in the middle of the room, save for two chairs; The fact that Akashi himself was sitting on one of the spare chairs, looking completely unsurprised to see him; And the fact that Nebuya was closing the door behind him, with a distinctive _click_ sound following shortly afterward.

_Locked in._

“Why am I here?” He asked bluntly, looking directly at Akashi, though more with annoyance rather than malice. Akashi glanced at the door, though his neutral expression didn’t change.

“I thought I told you that I wanted to be left alone,” Mayuzumi tried again, and this time, he managed to get a response.

“You did. But getting the others to bring you over here was the only way that I could speak to you without avoidance,” Akashi said, then looked pensive for a moment, “Though having the door locked behind us wasn’t my idea.”

“Then what was your idea?” Mayuzumi asked, raising an eyebrow.

Akashi stood up then, approached Mayuzumi with a calculating look, and stopped dead in front of him. Mayuzumi watched him carefully; Akashi was silent for several moments, until he carefully lowered his head and clasped his hands behind his back.

“I like you, Mayuzumi-san. Please go out with me.”

Mayuzumi was sure that his brain short-circuited right then and there.

“What the hell is going on?”

Akashi raised his head, red eyes locking onto him curiously (Mayuzumi still couldn’t wrap his head around the way that his eye could just change from gold to red like that.)

“I thought it was abundantly clear that I was confessing. Should I say it again?” Akashi asked, and Mayuzumi swore that he saw him smirking.

Several moments passed, and Mayuzumi still couldn’t completely dissect the situation. Akashi seemed to take pity on him.

“I knew you wouldn’t talk to me if I approached you myself. So I asked my teammates to help me get you in a spot where we could talk without the possibility of interruption before class today. The rooftop was my first choice of location, but considering the rain, I thought you might prefer somewhere else that would be secluded. I hadn’t anticipated that they would lock us in, though. They must have acquired the keys from a teacher.”

“Did you tell them that you were planning on confessing?”

Akashi shook his head. “Not in any explicit terms. I simply said I had unfinished business to attend to that involved you.”

Mayuzumi frowned. “That doesn’t explain why they locked us in here.”

As if on cue, Akashi’s phone buzzed in his pocket, and Mayuzumi took the opportunity to step back. When Akashi read the text he’d gotten, he pursed his lips lightly, and looked back at Mayuzumi.

“Nebuya has informed me that we have forty minutes to, quote unquote, ‘get our shit together’ before they let us out. How kind of them to give us the entire lunch period.”

Mayuzumi’s frown deepened. “What are we supposed to do for the next forty minutes, then?”

“Well, you could always admit your feelings, and we’ll see what happens afterward,” Akashi said in a tone of voice that was far too reasonable for Mayuzumi’s liking.

“Who said I liked you like that?”

Akashi hummed dismissively, and sent a reply text to Nebuya. “While I don’t approve of his methods, I have to say it will be much easier to talk to you when you can’t leave.” Akashi returned his gaze to Mayuzumi, “I don’t anticipate that there will be too many other times for me to talk to you before you graduate, so please don’t hesitate to make your feelings known.”

Mayuzumi was tempted to challenge him on that comment, but despite his frustration, seeing how goddamn patient Akashi looked kept him from it.

“Would it be easier if I explained my own feelings to you?” Akashi suggested, and Mayuzumi checked the clock on his phone; Thirty eight minutes left.

_Should I ignore the bait, or let my curiosity take over?_

“Go ahead.”

_Curiosity it is, then._

Akashi returned to the chair he had been sitting in before, and gestured for Mayuzumi to take the other one. Mayuzumi obliged, and Akashi began to speak.

“As you’re already aware, there are multiple facets to my personality. A sort of dual-self, if you want to call it that. You’re more intimately familiar with the first of mine, the one that emerged before I met you. I can guess that everything started happening after I had helped you hone your misdirection, around the inter-high.”

That surprised Mayuzumi- had Akashi harbored feelings for him since all the way back then? As far as he knew, Akashi’s attitude towards him hadn’t changed at that point; He still acted regal as ever, unafraid to critique Mayuzumi’s work and treat him accordingly if anything less than perfection was achieved.

“You’ll notice that I am more than good at keeping a hold on myself,” Akashi added, as if he could read Mayuzumi’s mind, and continued.

“At first, I thought nothing of the… minor developments that occurred. I assumed whatever feelings of closeness I had for you were meant for the betterment of my manipulation, and that it would be helpful in convincing you to boost your individual strength. But as time passed, I found my thoughts… wandering. To places I wasn’t comfortable with. So, I denied it. Our victory over Touou had secured my faith in you as a player, but our discussions afterward, about reading and schoolwork and the brief future, all had planted the seeds of a realization in my mind. I ignored them, at least for the most part. They were invasive at best, indecent at worst.”

Mayuzumi, in a rare state of surprise, sputtered at that.

“Indecent?”

Akashi had the decency to look away at that, though Mayuzumi noticed there didn’t seem to be any pink on his cheeks.

_Probably because he’s too stubborn for it._

There was a long pause, and Mayuzumi checked his phone shortly afterward. Thirty-two minutes left. He sighed.

“Keep talking.”

Akashi seemed almost caught off-guard that Mayuzumi was letting him continue, but talked anyway, returning his eyes to meet Mayuzumi’s.

“It was only during the winter cup that I completely realized I could consider you more than an asset. My other side was adamant that I should throw away any unnecessary emotions and focus on winning, but I suppose even that couldn’t stop you from reaching through to me. Success against Shutoku further solidified this. With the winter cup so close to our reach, I allowed myself to get disillusioned. But then our match against Seirin…” Akashi paused, and looked at his hands, “That was what drove the point home. When I was about to be substituted from the game, you mocked me. Told me that I was pathetic, and that you wouldn’t encourage me. I felt bitter. But then you asked me who I was, and now… I’m here instead.”

The significance of Akashi saying _I’m here instead_ hit Mayuzumi like a freight train.

“It wasn’t as though you were the only reason for triggering the change,” Akashi continued, leveling Mayuzumi with a pointed stare, “But you were a major factor. Even after our loss, after I had regained complete control, you were still in my mind. I had tried to let go, since you wanted so desperately to be unattached, but hearing you thank me on the rooftoop and then ask for me to leave you alone… these feelings wouldn’t go away.”

Mayuzumi held his breath, and Akashi let out a sigh.

“As much as it pains me to say it… you are both a weakness and a strength.”

_Twenty-seven minutes._

“Well, that’s my side of the story,” Akashi said and observed Mayuzumi as he checked his phone, “So now all that’s left is for you to tell yours. We still have quite a while left, if the way you check your phone is any indication.”

“Who said I had a story to tell?” Mayuzumi accused, and Akashi looked at him neutrally.

“If you insist on not saying anything, I no longer have the power to dictate your actions. You’re not part of the team, and as far as I can see, you have no interest in continuing communication with anyone involved, myself included. So, we can sit here in awkward silence for another almost half-hour, or you can tell me what’s on your mind. It’s your choice.”

Mayuzumi groused. “Manipulative bastard.”

Akashi smiled. “It’s not the first time I’ve been called that.”

At first, Mayuzumi was tempted to take Akashi’s first suggestion and let them stay in silence. The weight of feelings bearing down on the two was almost suffocating, and three minutes passed without a word being said between them, stretching on and on, and Akashi was still sitting and smiling, looking at Mayuzumi as if he was winning a game of shogi that they weren’t even playing, it was crushing, and Mayuzumi, for all he liked to remain aloof, felt his fingers twitching-

“You shouldn’t expect a confession in return,” He said after what felt like ages.

Akashi tilted his head slightly. “I wasn’t expecting one.”

“You’re expecting something, though,” Mayuzumi defended.

_Damn him for getting under my skin, damn him for saying all of those stupid things..._

“I’m expecting a response.”

Mayuzumi watched Akashi carefully, trying to plan out his next move. It was probably futile, for as much as Akashi had changed, he still liked to win, and going against Akashi in a one-on-one? Not a good idea. Still, Mayuzumi had his pride, and he supposed if there was anyone who could try to challenge the former emperor, it might as well be him.

“You haven’t shaken my world nearly as much as you think,” He started. When Akashi hummed questioningly, Mayuzumi elaborated, “You convinced me not to abandon the basketball team, but we didn’t win. I honed a skill that I’m never going to use again.”

“But you didn’t mind it, did you?”

Mayuzumi fell silent for a moment, and that was enough of an answer for Akashi.

“Up until I realized I had been used, I thought… maybe, I thought of you as a decent person. And then you changed. There are more parts of you that I haven’t seen now than what I have. But, I guess somehow, you’re still the same person in a lot of ways. And it’s frustrating to try to build something with someone who can so easily string you along. I don’t even know if you’re stringing me along right now or not.”

Something in Akashi’s expression shifted, no longer sly, but just as serious. “Do you think I am?”

Mayuzumi hesitated.

“I hope you’re not.”

Akashi looked at him then, with something that Mayuzumi couldn’t name in his expression, and it was almost overwhelming-

_Screw it all._

Mayuzumi stood up from his chair, and took the few strides needed to stand in front of Akashi. With much less force than he would have liked, he tilted Akashi’s chin up and placed a kiss on his lips. It wasn’t rough, but it wasn’t gentle either- it was what it was.

After pulling away, Mayuzumi spoke, not even checking the time.

“Ever since I met you you’ve been trying to knock me off balance. Are you satisfied that it’s finally working?”

“Only as satisfied as you are.” Akashi responded, and reached a hand forward to pull Mayuzumi into another kiss.

Mayuzumi would be lying to himself if he said he had felt more elated before than he did when he kissed Akashi. For all that he had known, Akashi had never had a significant other (aside from possibly that Kuroko kid- but he preferred not to dwell on that) and Mayuzumi could have very well stolen his first kiss. The thought made him feel surprisingly powerful, for a change. He pulled away.

“I’ll be graduating soon.” Mayuzumi said.

“I don’t care.”

“We won’t be able to see each other often.”

“There’s always the internet.”

“We’re both men, and a relationship would be frowned upon.”

“Since when have you cared what others thought about you?”

Mayuzumi conceded, placing his hand on Akashi’s shoulder and slowly sliding it down his arm.

“We have twenty minutes before the others come back for us. What do you suppose we could do in that time?”

“I have a few ideas.”

\---

“Reo-nee, do you think they’ll be mad at us for locking them in?” Hayama asked.

“I’d be surprised if they weren’t. Maybe if we’re lucky we’ll only get extra drill sets,” Mibuchi replied, frowning at the prospect. Knowing Akashi… they probably wouldn’t be lucky at all.

“The longer we wait, the more likely it is that we’ll have our asses kicked, so let’s get them out of there before class starts up and they get _really_ pissed,” Nebuya added.

When they unlocked the storage room, they weren’t sure what to expect, but nothing could have prepared them for the sight of Akashi and Mayuzumi making out on the floor. All three stood, stunned, until Hayama coughed awkwardly. Akashi glanced up, and carefully removed himself from Mayuzumi’s lap to stand up. Upon closer inspection, Akashi was perfectly composed, save for the barest hint of a purple mark peeking above his shirt collar, and Mayuzumi only looked marginally less put-together. His slightly-bloodied lip suggested that he had been biting it to keep quiet- it was probably better not to think about that.

“I trust everything went well?” Mibuchi asked, raising an eyebrow. Akashi hummed, and Mayuzumi stood up, brushing himself off.

“You owe us lunch.”

**Author's Note:**

> Drop me a line at doomedtemperament.tumblr.com ! ^u^


End file.
